Thanks, ESPN, for sticking with longtime programming and continuing to value Big 12 basketball so strongly.

And thanks, Fox Sports, for upgrading alternatives to include Big Fox and the over-air network exposure it provides.

“It gives us a very public, and a very business-oriented substantiation of the commitment that our 10 institutions have to one another privately,’’ Bowlsby said.

“I think many were concerned we were going to come off the rails again at some point in time. This demonstrates that’s not going to happen, that we’re going to be partners for a long period.’’

By moving forward in lockstep, the Big 12 solidifies a footprint that looked disjointed following the addition of West Virginia.

Eventually, however, the television partners did not consider recent comings and goings a hindrance. Not after Big 12 members agreed to a 13-year grant of rights in exchange for a reported $2.6 billion deal, which pays each school roughly $20 million annually through 2024-25. Third-tier rights will fetch even more money, and find Fox involved with Big 12 members on that front.

The new arrangement will get punctuated in hi-def on Sept. 22. Big Fox -- the network channel -- will have the call. Although executives would not confirm the teams in that 6:30 p.m. premiere, it is sure to feature the Big 12’s showcase game that day -- Kansas State against Oklahoma, from Owen Field, in Norman.

Credit Big 12 administrators, past and present, for their conviction to maintaining agreements with Fox. The development of that relationship with what was once a fledgling operation enabled the Big 12 to get factored into that network’s expansion into college sports programming on Saturday nights.

Over time, we watched as Fox Sports grew. Initially we laughed as football was squeezed into an FX window between reruns of The A-Team. Eventually we grew to like Emily Jones offering Texas flair, Jim Knox hoof-racing Ralphie (face it, we all miss Ralphie) and Dave Lapham putting on his big boy pads.

“It was very important to Fox and a paramount driving force in entering this new agreement to improve our picks,’’ said Karen Brodkin, a Fox Sports executive. “To bring Big 12 football to a broadcast network, you want to bring premiere games. We look forward to enjoying more preferred picks.’’

“The conference is the biggest winner because now they have a bigger national platform,’’ added another Fox exec, Larry Jones.

Indeed, enough apparent windows (some with 8:15 p.m. starts) enabled Fox and ESPN to see through this deal and agree to share Big 12 inventory ... even though the 10-team membership could create weeks where pickings are slim if one monumental clash is evident.

That is the one potential drawback to partnering with a league that is not even large enough to authorize a championship game.

Yet because the televison deal was struck, the Big 12 is not outwardly seeking new partners.

“We have a lot going for us and we ought to be slow to share that unless someone brings extraordinary cachet,’’ Bowlsby said.

Now that the new Big 12 television deal is finalized in ink, the new commissioner’s familiar stance sounds even stronger.